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On 7th March we packed our cases again & put them on the (very accurate) scales used by Kurt to weigh the coffee beans. Phew! both cases were within the allowance! We chilled on the lanai for a while & then we said 'goodbye' & 'Mahola' to Kurt & Kana, our lovely hosts in Hawai'i. We set off up the perilous drive for the last time & made for Kailua to spend the day before going to the airport. We mooched around the market where Les bought me some hand made bead necklaces then had a wander on the boardwalks in the quaint arcade by the sea & sat on a lanai whilst we had a cool smoothie. We went across the road into Mokualkau, which is the oldest Christian church in the Hawai'ian islands. A lady we spoke to inside the church was very proud that it was celebrating its 175th anniversary since opening in 1832. Its a lovely church which was built by missionaries. Lots of koa wood is used inside & the outside was built using lava rock & coral mortar. After our sojourn in the church we walked back to our car & went in search of food as we wouldn't be fed on the plane! Denny's diner was on the way to the airport so we had a meal there. Not exactly cordon bleu but at least it was tasty & would keep us going!
The drive to the airport was uneventful & we found the car rental returns office without getting lost! I then had to persuade the lady on the desk to reduce our payment as somehow our car had been "upgraded" & they wanted to charge us extra on top of our original payment, made when we booked the car. That would have doubled the cost! Huh, I think not! I succesfully made my case, so thankfully paid no more!! Moral: if you're not happy, say so!
Well, the Kona airport experience was.........an experience! Someone from Westjet eventually shuffled up to the check in desk, weighed our cases, gave us boarding passes & told us to "take them round the corner to bag drop" which we did. Good security eh? The departure area is rather like a B&Q garden centre in the middle of a major renovation! There was one small cafe & the few shops were all closed. Our flight eventually took off an hour late, but was very comfortable & I even got some sleep! The pilot put his foot down so that we landed on time!
Vancouver airport is such a contrast to Kona! Everything was very efficient & we'd picked up our cases & were having coffee before 8am. Then all we had to do was find our B&B, which wasn't as difficult as we'd feared. We found a taxi & were soon on our way to Cambie Lodge, which took less than half an hour. Lovena at the B&B let us in & although our room, as we expected, wasn't yet ready we were able to leave our cases there whilst we went off to explore Vancouver.
Oh my, did we feel the cold after all the hot weather we'd been used to! It was 2° & a bit breezy, but I must say that in a strange way it also felt quite refreshing! We started to walk, not knowing where anything was & found ourselves on a bridge going towards Yaletown. From the bridge we could just see the mountains, swathed in clouds. We found a little cafe & warmed up with coffee & croissants, the decided to find the library as there was no sign of a visitor centre anywhere nearby. In the library a lady gave us bus timetables & told us which bus to take to various places. We then looked at maps of the city over a lovely cup of tea in a cafe next to the library then walked back to our digs. On the way we spotted a "wholefoods" & went into the deli to pick up some food to eat later, but noticed that they had a hot food bar & cafe area so we had a very good meal there - the vegetable biriani was delicious! Replete, we walked back up the hill to Cambie Lodge where our room, on the ground floor, was ready. What a lovely house - a beautiful old weatherboarded colonial style. We unpacked & went to the kitchen to make a drink & it seemed that we had the house to ourselves, it was so quiet! The lounge was just outside our room so we relaxed there with our tea before turning in - we were both definitely flagging by then & needed to sleep!
We were up & eating breakfastby 9am & discovered that there were indeed other guests! There was a South African couple, a young couple from California & a chap from Calgary, all of whom were very friendly & chatty. Breakfast was good, & plentiful (but not as good as Kurt's). After breakfast we walked back into town to the library building where we had a coffee & then went to the Waterfront to investigate the Information Centre. A very helpful volunteer gave us lots of information about places to visit & how to get around. We bought transit passes to use whilst in Vancouver then, as we walked outside the heavens opened & we had to take shelter in another coffee shop! As there was no sign of the rain abating we got the Sky train from Waterfront station back to Broadway/City hall, which is a few blocks from where we were staying & headed back into Wholefoods for some dinner as we didn't want fast food & were too wet to go to a decent restaurant! We had another good meal, then went back to sit in our lounge & attempt to add to the blog. No joy, however, so frustrating! So we had another much needed early night!
- comments
LORRAINE All sounds fabulous. You are a marvellous orator, I feel I am there with you. Enjoy Vancouver.
Wendy M What seasoned travellers you are becoming......no airport hitch you can't handle. Not surprised you need some early nights, you are certainly packing your days! Take care both of you.